Traditional lounge act

Len's Lounge carries on a Midwest tradition while chasing some butterflies

KEVIN HOLLO | CIN WEEKLY CONTRIBUTOR

Len's Lounge (File photo)

JUST THE FACTS

WHAT: The Longest Night, a solstice performance that Len's Lounge will record for an upcoming live CD.

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 21. Shows at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Jack Quinn's Emerald Ballroom, 112 E. Fourth St., Covington

PRICE: $7, or $5 with a nonperishable food item.

Jeff Roberson, the guiding force in the band Len's Lounge, is carrying on a Midwest musical tradition.

It started in the bowels of the ships crossing the Atlantic - sea chanteys and broadsides sung by weary Irish and stubborn English, reaching the American shore to spread inland to the hills of Appalachia. Mandolins and banjos begin to accompany the ancient lullaby that a mother had always sung to her sick child. These narratives dribble down from Kentucky mountaintops into the great Ohio River. They reach us in the bars and saloons where bands like Len's Lounge have been tapping into the rich vein of Americana and delivering roots music unfettered by pop culture.

RETURN TO THE BRANCHES

In their latest recording, String Band, Roberson and company return to the branches of that ancestral tree. The origins of Len's Lounge are as elaborate as some of the stories found on the album. Over the years, members have come and gone, a revolving cast of around 25 musicians. Jeff got his start with a band aptly named Bovine Militia, a satirical play on Cincinnati's reputation as a "cowtown."

PLANTED SEEDS

More importantly, as the genesis of Len's Lounge unfolds, the seeds are planted with other local musicians in bands such as the Afghan Whigs and Plow-On Boy.

"Being in this area, you just can't get away from that stuff," Roberson says. "It just permeates the culture."

This extended family of dedicated musical folklorists, some more rock, some more country, is still alive and well today. String Band's sound is fleshed out with the appearance of Dave Morrison from Cincinnati's Ass Ponys on drums as well as Newky Stapleton from The Stapletons on banjo.

Thirteen years is a long time in the music industry, particularly for a band that thrives on its hometown fan base and indie-label record sales. The band's upcoming show, aptly named The Longest Night for the winter solstice on Dec. 21, will be a celebration of that time and energy, a pursuit of intimacy that you simply can't achieve with electric guitars. The organic stripped-down tone of String Band exemplifies that closeness, the rapport established with the listener.

"I love intimate situations," Roberson says, "but I love standing on the stage at the Southgate House or Bogart's. You have to give yourself over to the music to be perceived as authentic."

I learn that the song "Miranda" was co-written with Roberson's four-year-old daughter.

"We wrote that together at the kitchen table - 'OK, what did we do today?' 'Well, I was outside chasing butterflies.'"

WRITTEN IN THE CAR

Some of these songs, including "West of the Wabash," were written in the car while driving, the lyrics reflecting literally what Jeff was seeing.

"My mom lives out in central Illinois, so we're out there all the time. Songwriting for me is kind of a long-term organic process, part of it is articulating the environment I see around me, and not particularly in a way that makes a judgment so much as an observation."

Roberson's intent becomes two-fold: to take us to that place in the music and to provide a road map of sorts for our own travels, preferably by car.

INTO YOUR HOMES

The Longest Night performance at Jack Quinn's in Covington will be recorded for an upcoming live album. The CD, due to be released on March 21, will bring Len's Lounge into your homes, and with it the warmth of finger-picked instruments.

As our discussion winds down, Roberson reminds me why Cincinnati is unique in a country chock-full of music towns: "The media mindset is coalescing to view local music not so much as local music but music of local origin."

There is a subtle difference, and you can hear it in Len's Lounge. Awfully good come Christmas time; a perfect complement to fireside nog.